A variety of caps and baseball-type caps have been available and several such caps have been described in numerous patents. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,662,007 discloses a baseball-type cap structure for multi-size utilization wherein the cap includes a shell forming the crown portion, a visor and ear flaps which are hingedly secured to the base of the shell. The crown portion is formed of several gore portions; non-stretchable gores fastened to the visor portion with the remainder gores being stretchable to provide size adjustment.
Another cap disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,644,588 comprises an eyeshield for infants. This cap includes a stretchable crown portion and a stretchable hem extending from the lower edge of the crown. An opaque insert on the hem covers the eyes of the infant during phototherapy treatment. The stretchable hem portion is attached to the crown portion by overedge seam type stretching so that the stretchability of the fabric is not restricted.
Another adjustable cap is disclosed in an early patent, i.e., U.S. Pat. No. 1,501,654. The cap disclosed in said patent comprises a body portion having one or more openings or notches along its lower edge, and one or more constricting straps which can be adjusted to vary the size of the cap.
An adjustable sweatband for headgear is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,481,681. This sweatband is used for uniform caps and comprises a casing with one open end and one closed end and a strap extending through and beyond the open end of the casing, said strap having a free end and a stationery end, with spaced locking means provided on said free end adapted to snap into spaced tabs on the stationery end. The circumference of the sweatband may be varied and adjusted by snapping the locking means into a different tab to thereby increase or decrease the circumference of the sweatband.
The elastic caps which have heretofore been employed have not been entirely satisfactory. These caps, after a period of wear, become uncomfortable due to constant pressure which the cap exerts on the head of the wearer. Frequently, the cap loses its elasticity after a period of wear and no longer fits the head of the wearer. On the other hand, caps with adjustable means have been in use for some time. These caps comprise an adjustable means usually formed within the interior lower rim of the cap, and a cutout portion usually formed in the back or sides of the crown portion. The cutout portions are provided to enable spaced apart points on the lower rim of the crown to be brought together when adjustment is needed to fit a smaller head. These cutout portions can often be unattractive since they disrupt the continuity of the contour lines of the cap crown, and reveal the adjustment means. Also, bringing the spaced apart portion of the cutout together as aforesaid causes crimping and buckling of crown material surrounding the cutout portion.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an adjustable baseball-type cap which is free from the foregoing deficiencies.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a cap structure which comprises an adjustment means for varying the cap size to fit the head sizes of different wearers without the discomfort or disfigurements experienced with the prior art caps.
It is still another object of this invention to provide such adjustable caps which are simple and economical to construct, attractive to wear, and which exhibit the necessary structural integrity.
The foregoing objects and other features of this invention will be more fully appreciated from the ensuing detailed description and the accompanying drawings of the invention which constitute part of this application.